In this video we learn how to restore the lubricant in audio cassette tapes and obtain perfect transportation free of wow and flutter issues and squeaky sounds!
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LUBRICANTS
(choose your own. Better if silicon based and without any type of diluent). Here are two different examples:
3M silicone lubricant 08877 wet version:
https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/3M-Silicone-Lubricant-Plus-Wet-Version-08877-9-Ounce/?N=5002385+4294924456&rt=d
Kontakt61:
http://www.kontaktchemie.com/koc/KOCproductdetail.csp?division=&product=KONTAKT%2061&ilang=en&plang=en
TAPE RECORDER
(again, search for a crapy model on ebay and pay it cheap!). The one I used is the Aiwa TP-Vs480
CUE TIPS of COTTON SWABS:
Just make sure they are made of 100% cotton
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EXTRA INFO (UPDATED!):
Considering the fact that, reasonably, a lot of people have doubts about this process, here is some evidence in support of the existence of this issue, the fact that all tapes have lubricant, and of the possibility to use a re-lubricant process for magnetic tape (just remember to use a dry cotton swab to absorb the lubricant that may have not been absorbed after a while).
Here you will find a selection of scientific papers explaining the issue and how it is a standard procedure to relube tape (even NASA does this!). I have underlined a few crucial passages in the papers:
Heritage: https://www.dropbox.com/s/f8254yfeqrrw9vp/heritage-02-00097-v2.pdf?dl=0
Nasa: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xxdw1qh8mlbppdu/Nasa.pdf?dl=0
HESS: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ydrvxg6zipjkrvw/HESS_Tape_Degradation_ARSC_Journal_39-2.pdf?dl=0
Preservation Commission: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3s3ejmho2jexhgt/pub54.pdf?dl=0
- (here is the official article: https://www.dropbox.com/s/rtvqt1n537w9vpa/Bogart.pdf?dl=0)
Kondo: https://www.dropbox.com/s/zi4vv42ggi9vh8u/tribochemistry-of-ionic-liquid-lubricant-on-magnetic-media.pdf?dl=0
Here is an article of a lab that is relubing its cassettes: http://tasso.cat/re-lubrication-of-compact-cassette-tapes-with-sbs/
This is a page of a famous audio engineer: http://www.baileyzone.net/analog%20tape%20diy.htm
This is a page of a company that sells its high quality tape lubricant: https://thelastfactory.com/tape-care-preservation/